Year 2022

The annual reports of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters are published annually in the Yearbook, the 2022 report can be found in the online version of the Yearbook here. Below is an outline of the Academy’s activities for 2022.

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters is a broad-based learned society founded in 1908 with the principal aim of promoting scientific research, acting as a bond between those engaged in advanced research and supporting better utilisation of high-quality research in decision-making.

Governing Board and Secretary General

The year 2022 was the 115th year of operation of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. The President of the Governing Board of the Academy in 2022 was Kimmo Kaski and the Vice President was Tuula Linna. Pekka Ilmakunnas continued as Treasurer and Juha Kinnunen as Secretary of the Section of Science. Päivi Pahta was elected Secretary of the Section of Humanities until the end of the 2019–2023 term. The ordinary members were Johanna Mappes, Jari Ojala, Heta Pyrhönen and Jukka Westermarck. The Governing Board held 9 meetings and one consultation by email during the year. Pekka Aula continued as Secretary General.

The members of the Governing Board served during the year as trustees of the Emil Öhmann Foundation and the Hilkka and Otto Brusiin Foundation.

The committees and working groups set up by the Governing Board were Property Management Committee, Prizes Committee, Publications Committee, Ethics Committee and the Emil Aaltonen Fund.

The members of the Selection Committee for the Section of the Humanities up until the Autumn Meeting 2022 were Heikki Halila, Marja-Liisa Helasvuo, Anne Kovalainen, Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen,Outi Merisalo, Pirjo Markkola, Martti Nissinen (chairman) and Sirkka Saarinen. Helasvuo and Merisalo stepped down in the Autumn Meeting and Tuomas Forsberg and Minna Palander-Collin were elected as new members of the Selection Committee.

The members of the Selection Committee for the Section of Science up until the Autumn Meeting 2022 were Kari Enqvist, Jyrki Heino, Juha Kere (chairman), Jouko Korppi-Tommola, Ilkka Norros, Asla Pitkänen, Kaisa Poutanen and Kristiina Wähälä. Kere and Pitkänen stepped down in the Autumn Meeting and Olli Ikkala and Sirpa Jalkanen were elected as new members of the Selection Committee.

Grants and projects

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters distributed almost 2.5 million euros in grants in 2022. The majority of the grants were for young post-graduate researchers.

The value of an individual grant for post-graduate study was 26,000 euros. During the year under review, compensations to universities were no longer paid in conjunction with grants for doctoral studies, but when applying for grants, it was possible to also apply for a grant to cover the costs of research. No personal grants were awarded to Academy members. In accordance with the decision made in 2021, increasing the margin of distribution of grants in stages began.

Applications for grants were reviewed by reviewers appointed by the Governing Board who are leading experts in their fields, and the final decisions were made by the Board following the reviewers’ recommendations. Attention was given to the possible incompatibilities of both the reviewers and the decision-makers when processing the grants of the funds and foundations administered by the Academy.

This was the 58th time that grants for scientific research were distributed from the Vilho, Yrjö and Kalle Väisälä Fund. Approximately 1.75 million euros was awarded in grants. The Fund received a total of 253 applications, with a sum of approx. 5.7 million euros altogether.

Grants from the Väisälä Fund were awarded to 75 applicants. These included 55 post-graduate grants of 26,000 euros for full-time academic study for a duration of one year and 11 grants for part of a year. A total of 5 grants were awarded for research costs in addition to post-graduate grants. A total of 12 grants were awarded for short-term research visits abroad, of which three were granted in addition to post-graduate grants.

The Eino Jutikkala Fund distributed grants for research in the humanities for the 15th time. The application fields under the Academy’s Section of the Humanities are divided into two baskets, and applications in archaeology, history, law and social sciences were invited this year. This led to a total of 302 applications, amounting altogether to roughly 8.2 million euros. Due to the division, the statistics are not directly comparable between two consecutive years.

Grants from the Jutikkala Fund were awarded to 19 applicants, about 504,400 euros in total. All these grants were for the commencement of doctoral studies.

The Academy’s Mathematics Fund distributed roughly 114,000 euros in grants and prizes, including 80,000 euros for organizing the General Assembly of the International Mathematical Union and the Fields Medal Award Ceremony. The Emil Öhmann Foundation, which is administered by the Academy, distributed 56,190 euros in grants. The Hilkka and Otto Brusiin Foundation distributes grants every second year: in 2022, the Foundation awarded 48,200 euros in grants. In addition, the Emil Öhmann Foundation awarded one grantee a total of 3,000 euros for financing short-term research in Berlin at the Finnish Institute in Germany.

In 2022, the Academy took part for the seventh year in the Säätiöiden post doc -pooli (“the Foundations’ Post Doc Pool”). The sum awarded in 2022 was 200,000 euros. The grants awarded in 2022 amounted to 148,000 euros from the Väisälä Fund and 49,700 euros from the Jutikkala Fund. The unawarded 2,300 euros was transferred to be awarded in 2023.

The Maupertuis Programme, run jointly by the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters, the French Institute in Helsinki, the French Embassy to Finland and the French Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation, distributed 25 international mobility grants for bilateral visits by researchers and experts. It was decided in 2022 that the Academy will no longer participate in the programme in 2023.

During the year, the Governing Board decided to establish the Väisälä project grant of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters for early-career tenure-track researchers working in Finland looking to set up their own research group and cover the research costs of the group. It was decided that the first round of grant funding would be opened in early 2023.

During the year, preparations were made to start a large project entitled The History of Science in Finland, coordinated by the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters. The aim of the project is to gather personal recollections from Finnish scientists and to produce a series of books on the history of science in Finland during its independence. Stefan Nygård, who works at the Academy, was appointed the scientific coordinator for the project.

Prizes

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Academy Award 2022, a sum of 30,000 euros, was presented to Academician of Science Sirpa Jalkanen for her substantial achievements in immunology. She was also presented with Academy Medal No. 34.

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Prize for the Humanities, now awarded for the 12th time and amounting to 15,000 euros, was awarded to Carita Kiili, Academy Research Fellow at Tampere University.

The Academy’s Väisälä Prizes 2022 were given to Associate Professor Vesa Julin from the University of Jyväskylä and Associate Professor Katrianne Lehtipalo from the University of Helsinki. These prizes were now awarded for the 23rd time, and they are worth 15,000 euros each.

The Eino Jutikkala History Prize, awarded every three years, was presented to Professor Jari Eloranta. The prize is worth 15,000 euros.

Over the course of the year, the Academy proposed candidates for the Balzan Prize, the Gad Rausing Prize, the International Prize of the Fyssen Foundation, the Holberg Prize, the Körber Prize, the Louis-Jeantet Prize, the Nils Klim Prize and Olav Thon Foundation’s International Research Award for Mathematics/Natural Sciences and Medicine.

As for national awards, the Academy proposed candidates during the year for the Alfred Kordelin Prize and the State Award for Public Information.

Meetings and events

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters held themed monthly evenings throughout the year 2022. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the February event was still held entirely online, so that only the speakers of the event were present at the location. Starting in March, events became open to the public. In addition to this, many of the events were also streamed live online. The events gathered excellent audiences.

Meetings and events in 2022

14 February: Perustutkimus (“Basic research”)

Streamed live from the facilities of the Academy
The first thematic meeting of the year 2022 featured a discussion on basic research and its significance in societal development and wellbeing. The event was held remotely.
The speakers at the event were Rector, Professor Keijo Hämäläinen from the University of Jyväskylä; Dean, Professor Päivi Pahta from Tampere University; and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Confederation of Finnish Industries Jaana Tuominen. The discussion was led by President of the Board of the Academy Kimmo Kaski.
The recording is available for the time being at www.acadsci.fi

31 March: Suomalainen kriisinkestävyys 2020-luvulla (“Finnish resilience in the 2020s”)

The Great Hall of the University of Helsinki, live streaming online
The event was organized in cooperation with the National Defence Course Association.
The event featured a discussion on resilience from a wide variety of perspectives: What is resilience, how does culture, for instance, maintain mental resilience, what is the significance of open data in science diplomacy and how has Finland succeeded in addressing the challenges posed by the pandemic?
The event was opened by Secretary General of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, Professor Pekka Aula and Chairman of the National Defence Course Association, President of the Supreme Administrative Court Kari Kuusiniemi. A speech from Minister of Defence Antti Kaikkonen was also heard in the beginning of the event.
The panel discussion was moderated by Director of the Finnish Business and Policy Forum Emilia Kullas. The panellists were Director of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare Mika Salminen; Permanent Under-Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Leena Mörttinen; General Director at the Finnish National Opera and Ballet Gita Kadambi; University of Helsinki researcher, Academician of Science Markku Kulmala; and Director of the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats Teija Tiilikainen.
The recording is available for the time being at www.acadsci.fi

10 May: Monitieteistä ilmasto- ja terveystutkimusta Itä-Suomen yliopistossa
(“Multidisciplinary climate and health research at the University of Eastern Finland”)

University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus
The seminar was organized by the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland. Researchers in the natural sciences, health sciences and social sciences conduct multidisciplinary, collaborative climate research at the University of Eastern Finland. The seminar presented the perspectives of a physicist, an environmental scientist, a brain researcher and a legal expert on the research.
The seminar was opened by Dean Kari Lehtinen and President of the Board of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters, Professor Kimmo Kaski.
The speakers at the event were Professor Kimmo Kaski, Professor Annele Virtanen, Associate Professor Pasi Jalava, Professor Tarja Malm and Senior Lecturer Tuula Honkonen.

12 September Thematic meeting: Tiede ja Ukraina nyt (“Science and Ukraine now”)

House of the Estates, live streaming online
How does the war in Ukraine change our perception of recent European history and history more broadly? How does the ongoing war affect the European field of science and the research of individual scientists?
The topic was introduced by Professor of Political History at the University of Helsinki Juhana Aunesluoma and Professor of Animal Ecology at the University of Jyväskylä Tapio Mappes.
The recording is available for the time being at www.acadsci.fi

10 October: Thematic meeting: Ilta humanistisille tieteille (“Evening dedicated to the humanities”)

House of the Estates, live streaming online
The October event of the Academy was a celebration of the humanities. The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters Prize for the Humanities and the Eino Jutikkala History Prize were presented during the evening, and the winners gave speeches about their research. The Prize for the Humanities was received by Academy Research Fellow Carita Kiili and the Eino Jutikkala History Prize by Professor Jari Eloranta.
The recipients of grants from the Eino Jutikkala Fund, the Emil Öhmann Foundation and the Hilkka and Otto Brusiin Foundation were also announced.
The recording is available for the time being at www.acadsci.fi

14 November: Thematic meeting: Energia (“Energy”)

House of the Estates, live streaming online
The thematic meeting in November offered insight into future energy choices. What do the energy solutions of tomorrow look like and what will their impact be on the environment, society, economy and human behaviour?
The topic was introduced by Professor of Engineering Physics at Aalto University Peter Lund, Professor at the Finnish Environment Institute Paula Kivimaa (Strategic Programme on Climate Change) and Professor of Economics at Aalto University Matti Liski.
The recording is available for the time being at www.acadsci.fi

12 December: Thematic meeting: Ilta matemaattis-luonnontieteellisille tieteille (“Evening dedicated to mathematics and science”)

House of the Estates, live streaming online
The Academy’s thematic evening in December was dedicated to mathematics and science. The 2022 Väisälä Prizes of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters were presented at the event and the recipients gave presentations on their fields and research. The prizes were received by Associate Professor Vesa Julin and Associate Professor Katrianne Lehtipalo.
In addition, the recipients of grants from the Vilho, Yrjö and Kalle Väisälä Fund of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters were announced.
The recording is available for the time being at www.acadsci.fi

The May event was organized in Kuopio in collaboration with the University of Eastern Finland. In October, the Academy took part in a Nobel Prize discussion event together with other academies of science and Helsingin Sanomat newspaper. The event was broadcast live from Sanoma House.

Section meetings were held as remote events in March. Of the annual general meetings, the Spring Meeting in April had a hybrid format so that some of the participants were present at the venue and some attended remotely, and the Autumn Meeting in November was held only at the House of the Estates without the possibility of remote participation.

The Academy’s Psychology and Pedagogy Group held an event entitled “COVID-19-pandemian jäljet oppilaitoksissa ja perheissä” (“Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schools and families”). The hybrid event took place on 16 March in the auditorium of the National Museum.

The first Science Matinée in the history of the Academy was held on 9 December. The event kicked off the project The History of Science in Finland. The Science Matinée is a discussion event for members of the Academy.

Science and Policy

During the year, the activities of the Science Advice Initiative of Finland (Sofi) project were established as part of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. An analysis of Sofi’s achievements and lessons was conducted and plans were made to continue the work. One of the longer-term objectives of the work is to make Finland the world’s leading country in evidence-informed decision-making. Strategic planning to support the work in the upcoming years was carried out together with the Board of the Academy. It was decided that work would focus on the following priorities: 1) supporting researchers in increasing the impact of their work; 2) working as a connecting hub by building stronger connections in the science-policy interface; 3) developing new operating models for evidence-informed decision-making.

The Academy received one million euros from the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation in additional funding for the next four years for activities that promote the societal impact of science. The project aims to develop new tools for gathering and channelling the latest, high-quality research evidence and expert analysis to support societal decision-making. Over the course of the year, so-called science sparring workshops were organized with two ministries and the work of the project was presented in seven European countries.

International activities

The Academy strengthened existing and built new international relations, particularly under the Science and Policy theme. The Academy organized several discussions with European academies of science on evidence-informed decision-making and the role of academies of science in future societies. The Academy visited Leopoldina (German National Academy of Sciences) in Germany, KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences) in the Netherlands, and RSE (The Royal Society of Edinburgh) in Scotland. A remote meeting was held with SCNAT (Swiss Academy of Sciences), and the Estonian Academy of Sciences visited the premises at Mariankatu. The Academy participated in the Annual Meeting of the European Science Advisors Forum in Vilnius as the Finnish representative. The Academy was an invited guest at the European Commission’s JRC (Joint Research Centre), WRR (The Netherlands Scientific Council for Government Policy) in the Netherlands, and the Cabinet Office in the United Kingdom. Activities were also presented at the Science Advice at Times of Crises conference of SAPEA (Science Advice for Policy by European Academies) in Brussels.

Contacts to international scientific organizations by the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters took place mainly under the auspices of the Council of Finnish Academies (CoFA), the cooperative body for the science academies in Finland. The Academy’s President was a member of the executive committee of CoFA and the Academy’s Vice President acted as their deputy. The Secretary General was also a member of the executive committee, but without a vote. The Academy was represented on CoFA’s International Affairs Committee (IAC) by Anna Mauranen, who also acted as chairman of the committee, and by Olavi Nevanlinna. The chairman of CoFA’s Human Rights Committee was Liisa Laakso.

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters continued for the fifth year as the academy chiefly responsible for CoFA’s affairs. CoFA plays an important part in the reform of the Finnish system of academies of science and will be crucial in determining the direction this system will take in the future. Within the framework of their agreement, the academies of science will participate even more actively in developing the scientific community and its internationalization. During the year, it was decided in accordance with the memorandum of association of CoFA that the activities of CoFA would be transferred from the administration of the Academy to the Finnish Society of Science and Letters. Following negotiations with the Society, the move of the secretariat of CoFA took place in December.

Through the medium of CoFA, members of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters held positions of trust in several international scientific organizations: Mats Gyllenberg, Maija Tenkanen, Jukka Seppälä, Pirjo Peltonen-Sainio and Hanna Tuomisto in EASAC; Anna Mauranen, Ahti Salo, Pekka Aula (until March) and Mari Vaattovaara in ISC; Mika Kajava in UAI; Liisa Laakso in the International Human Rights Network; Krista Varantola and Risto Kunelius in ALLEA; Mikko Hupa (until March) in Euro-CASE; Jukka Seppälä in SAPEA; and Elina Ikonen and Olli Vapalahti in IAP.

The Academy appoints members to various national committees. In the case of the Finnish National Committee of Arctic and Antarctic Research (SCAR, IASC), the Academy’s representative was Atte Korhola, with Juha Pekka Lunkka as his deputy. The representative on the National Committee for Astronomy (IAU) was Karri Muinonen. The representatives on the National Committee for Radio Science (URSI) were Karri Muinonen and Esa Kallio, with Ilya Usoskin as the deputy. Kimmo Kahma was the representative on the National Committee for Marine Research (SCOR), Juha Pekka Lunkka on the National Committee for Quaternary Research (INQUA), Ilkka Norros on the National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (IUTAM) and Juha Pekka Lunkka on the National Committee for Geology (IUGS).

The Academy was represented by Kimmo Kaski at the STS forum in Kyoto, Japan.

Membership

In its Spring Meeting, the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters invited Professor Marjatta Hietala, Professor Bengt Holmström and Academician of Science Risto Nieminen as honorary members of the Academy. They were also presented with Academy Medals 35–37.

The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters had 832 Finnish members and 172 external members at the end of 2022.

Altogether 27 new Finnish members and 4 new external members were elected in the Spring Meeting on 22 April.

The new members elected to the Section of Science were Juha Honkala (University of Turku), Kaarle Hämeri (University of Helsinki), Janne Laine (Aalto University), Perttu Lindsberg (University of Helsinki), Hannes Lohi (University of Helsinki), Seppo Mattila (University of Turku), Eeva Moilanen (Tampere University), Taina Rantanen (University of Jyväskylä), Zhipei Sun (Aalto University), Nikolai Tkachenko (Tampere University), Marko Virta (University of Helsinki) and Guoying Zhao (University of Oulu).

The new members elected to the Section of the Humanities were Juhana Aunesluoma (University of Helsinki), Kaisa Aunola (University of Jyväskylä), Sara Heinämaa (University of Jyväskylä), Pekka Kujamäki (University of Graz), Mikko Laitinen (University of Eastern Finland), Outi Lehtipuu (University of Helsinki), Ulla Liukkunen (University of Helsinki), Lauri Nummenmaa (national PET Centre), Matti Peikola (University of Turku), Raimo Siltala (University of Turku), Pamela Slotte (Åbo Akademi University), Eero Vaara (University of Oxford), Hannu Vartiainen (University of Helsinki), Kustaa H. J. Vilkuna (University of Jyväskylä) and Jussi Ylikoski (University of Oulu).

The new external members elected to the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters were Manfred J. Holler (University of Hamburg, Germany), Antti Pulkkinen (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, USA), Peter Adolf Schwerdtfeger (Massey University, New Zealand) and Herbert Sixta (Aalto University).

The Academy mourned the deaths of the following ordinary members during the year: Antti Ahlström, Risto Alapuro, Henry Bacon, Lauri Eskola, Eero Holopainen, Veli-Pekka Järveläinen, Juhani Kakkuri, Aarne Kinnunen, Simo Knuuttila, Heikki Leskinen, Jaakko Nousiainen, Heikki Palva, Markus Pessa, Kalevi Pihlaja, Tuomo Polvinen, Olavi Riihinen, Rauno Ruuhijärvi, Hannu Saloniemi, Olli Tammi, Aimo Tietäväinen, Peter Tigerstedt and Päiviö Tommila.

News was also received of the death of external members Helmut Moritz, Yurij Reshetnyak, Jouni Uitto and Edward Wilson.

Young Academy Finland

Year 2022 was the fifth full year of operation for Young Academy Finland (YAF), founded with the aim of promoting science, especially from the viewpoint of young researchers who are just starting their careers. The Chair of the Board of Young Academy Finland was Jenni Raitoharju until 16 September, followed by Olli-Ville Laukkanen. Young Academy Finland had a total of 84 members and 53 alumni during the year.

Young Academy Finland was to a large extent made possible by the donation of a million euros in 2017 from the Emil Aaltonen Foundation to the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters for establishing YAF. A separate Emil Aaltonen Fund was set up as a result of this donation. Young Academy Finland works in association with the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. It issues its own annual report every year.

Publications

The first issue of Annales Academiae Scientiarum Fennicae, a new multidisciplinary series of the Academy, was published during the year. Efforts were made to publish the first issue of the series already back in 2021, and this was finally possible in autumn 2022. In the future, the series will be published online biannually as an open access publication at journal.fi.

The first issue featured all three languages of the publication – Finnish, English and Swedish – and a versatile selection of natural sciences, humanities and social sciences. Altogether eight original articles were published in AASF 1/2022.

The Academy also published a Year Book in Finnish and in English in 2022.

The chairman of the Academy’s Publications Committee was Risto Nieminen and the vice chairman Anna Mauranen. The other members were Secretary General Pekka Aula, Kimmo Kaski, Heta Pyrhönen, Jari Eloranta, Jaakko Husa, Päivi Pahta, Tapio Salmi, Hannu Sariola and Erkki Tomppo. The members presented themselves as candidates for the Publications Committee. The Publications Committee held one meeting during the year.

Exchange of the Academy’s publications is managed by the Exchange Centre for Scientific Literature run by the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies. The Academy had 53 overseas exchange partners at the end of the year, and a total of 54 publications were sent out in this way.

A joint publishing committee was established in the beginning of 1996 to coordinate the publications of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters and the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters. The committee is elected for a three-year term, and a representative of the Academy or the Society is elected as chairman of the committee in alternating terms. The chairman for the term 2021–2023 is Jari Ojala who represents the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters.

Other activities

During the year, the Governing Board proposed members for several working groups and bodies by request. The Finnish Academy of Science and Letters has representatives in many institutions and organizations both at home and abroad.

Anna Mauranen was a member in the International Affairs Forum for Higher Education and Research set up by the Ministry of Education and Culture for the term 2020-2023.

The Academy is a member of the Federation of Finnish Learned Societies (TSV). It was represented on the board of the Federation by Arto Haapala (deputy Elina Ikonen) and Anna Mauranen (deputy Kimmo Kaski).

Pekka Ilmakunnas represented the Academy at the Federation’s spring meeting in March and the autumn meeting in September, and Risto Nieminen was its representative on the steering committee of the Federation’s publishing forum.

The Academy was represented on the Board of Directors of the Alfred Kordelin Foundation by Jukka Seppälä (deputy Keijo Hämäläinen) and Hannu Riikonen (Mari Vaattovaara) until 6 November and Anna Mauranen (Mari Vaattovaara) as of 7 November. The representatives in the Foundation’s section for science were Sami Pihlström (deputy Tuomas Forsberg) and Eija Kalso (Hilkka Soininen) until 6 November and Tapio Mappes (Gabriel Sanus) as of 7 November. The representative in the section for public education was Markku Löytönen (Risto Nieminen), and in the section for literature Heta Pyrhönen (Marjatta Palander) until 6 November and Sari Kivistö (Tomi Huttunen) as of 7 November. Ville Lukkarinen (Annika Waenerberg) was the representative in the arts section until 6 November and Helmi Järviluoma-Mäkelä (Arto Haapala) as of 7 November.

The Academy’s representatives on the Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board were Jaana Bäck and Jukka Jernvall, while Tapio Raunio represented the Academy in the Foundation for Foreign Policy Research. The Academy’s representative in the Finnish Foundations’ Post Doc Pool was Anna Mauranen, with Kaisa Nyberg as her deputy, and Secretary General Pekka Aula served as the Academy’s representative on the national LUMA Advisory Board. Anna Mauranen was nominated by the Academy as a member of the Board of Directors of the Finnish Research Impact Foundation.

The following members of the Academy were serving on the research councils of the Academy of Finland at the end of 2022: Petri Karonen and Matti Miestamo on the Research Council for Culture and Society; Ari Jokinen, Timo Repo and Marjo Yliperttula on the Research Council for Natural Sciences and Engineering; and Jussi Kukkonen, Toni Laaksonen, Jorma Palvimo and Anne Toppinen on the Research Council for Biosciences, Health and the Environment. Petri Karonen and Jussi Kukkonen also acted as the chairs of their respective council. Kari Elenius, Johanna Myllyrinne as chair and Kirsi Tirri have served on the Board of the Academy of Finland. Anne Kovalainen has been a member of the Strategic Research Council.

Pekka Ilmakunnas represented the Academy at the annual general meeting of the Mariankatu 5–7 property company in March. Pekka Aula sat on the board of the property company for part of the year and was replaced by Pekka Ilmakunnas, who also served as chair of the board.

Pekka Aula was the Academy’s representative at the annual meeting of the Finnish Zoological and Botanical Publishing Board in March, and at the spring meeting of the Association of Finnish Foundations. Leila Sarajärvi represented the Academy at the autumn meeting of the Association of Finnish Foundations. Pekka Ilmakunnas represented the Academy at the shareholders’ meeting of Vaisala Oyj in March.

Maria Lähteenmäki represented the Academy on the Programme Committee of the Science Forum, and Pekka Aula in its steering group.